NSA spy program is under review

The Justice Department said Monday that it has begun an internal investigation into its handling of information gathered in the government’s domestic spying program.

However, Democrats criticized the review as not going far enough to determine whether the program violates federal law.

The inquiry by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine will focus on the role of department prosecutors and agents in carrying out the warrantless surveillance program run by the National Security Agency.

Fine’s investigation is not expected to address whether the controversial program is an unconstitutional expansion of presidential power, as its critics and a federal judge in Detroit have charged.

“After conducting initial inquiries into the program, we have decided to open a program review that will examine the department’s controls and use of information related to the program,” Fine wrote in a letter dated Monday to House and Senate leaders on Judiciary, Intelligence and Appropriations committees.

The review also will look at “the department’s compliance with legal requirements governing the program,” according to the letter.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the agency welcomed the review: “We expect that this review will assist Justice Department personnel in ensuring that the department’s activities comply with the legal requirements that govern the operation of the program.”

In January, Fine’s office said it did not have jurisdiction to investigate, as requested by more than three dozen congressional Democrats, the legality of the secret program that monitors phone calls and e-mails between people in the U.S. and abroad when a link to terrorism is suspected.

“A full investigation into the program as a whole, not just the DOJ’s involvement, will be necessary,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose).

Noting Democrats’ renewed power to subpoena Bush administration officials next year, Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey (D-N.Y.) questioned that Fine’s investigation “is only coming now after the election as an attempt to appease Democrats” who have been critical of the program.